Jury delivers not guilty verdict

A White County jury deliberated about two hours Friday afternoon before finding 28-year-old Jeffrey D. Casillas of Enfield not guilty of all charges following a jury trial this week in White County Circuit Court.

A White County jury deliberated about two hours Friday afternoon before finding 28-year-old Jeffrey D. Casillas of Enfield not guilty of all charges following a jury trial this week in White County Circuit Court.

Casillas was formally charged late last year after Illinois State Police completed an investigation into allegations he had sexually abused a nine-year-old female relative. Four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse and one count of predatory criminal sexual assault were filed by the state.

The alleged victim took the stand this week in court and told the jury the defendant had touched her inappropriately in her bedroom.

The jury also watched a video of an interview with the alleged victim with Sheryl Woodham, a forensic interviewer with the local child advocacy group The Guardian Center. And, the jury heard from Dr. Kathy Swafford of the Southern Illinois University Medical Resource Netork.

White County State's Attorney Denton Aud prosecuted the case and argued to the jury that the alleged victim made the revelation of the abuse to an aunt and the previously good relationship between the defendant and the alleged victim's mother immediately ended when the revelation was made.

Casillas had declined to be interviewed by ISP Investigator Rick White.

Casillas was represented by Benton attorney Bryan Drew and he argued that White had not checked Casillas' work records to see if the defendant had an alibi for any of the times of alleged inappropriate behavior. White had said on the stand he had followed investigatory protocols.

One juror reported after the trial that many jurors felt like something wrong might have happened, but the state failed to provide enough proof that something inappropriate had occurred "beyond a reasonable doubt."

The juror commented that Aud did a good job of presenting what he had, but he just didn't have much to work with when there was no physical evidence, no witnesses and no confession by the defendant.